Helping you deliver good and outstanding care

One of the most frequently asked questions we get asked from adult social care providers is ‘how do we get a good or outstanding rating’ following inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Following discussions with services rated good and outstanding and analysis of more than 250 CQC inspection reports we have practical information for services wanting to continually improve.

Good and outstanding care guide

Our easy to use good and outstanding care guide (available to download below) gives a view of what really good care and support is, and critically how to make it happen.

Our workbook edition (available in hard copy – details below) is an extended version of the guide which includes questions and activities to help you reflect on what other services have done to provide good and outstanding care and consider how you would compare.

The guide showcases different approaches to achieving best practice, including recommendations and practical examples across 25+ topics closely linked to the CQC inspection process.

It looks at the various ways that services rated as good and outstanding plan for inspection, deliver the care that is needed and celebrate their achievements.

This guide is comprehensive, informative and easy to use.

Amber Support Services

See what good or outstanding care looks like

Here are four short films from organisations delivering good and outstanding rated care.

As in the guide, these organisations and others are keen share what they do day in and day out to make sure they deliver high quality person centred care. They also show what being good and outstanding means to them and the people who need care and support.

Thank you to Bluebird Care, Castle Supported Living, Nazareth Lodge Residential Care Home, Voyage Care (Derwent Cottages) and all the other good and outstanding organisations who have supported the development of the guide.

How this guide can help you

The good and outstanding care guide:

Brings together recommendations, cost effective solutions and tips on what to avoid from organisations of all different types and sizes who have been rated as good or outstanding

Offers a ‘checklist’ of what good or outstanding care looks like across a range of themes linked to the CQCs five key questions

Includes practical examples of what has impressed inspectors

Provides tried and tested ways of preparing for inspection so you can be clear on how to demonstrate that you are meeting the CQC’s fundamental standards

You can use this information to benchmark whether you are doing things well or to decide where you can make improvements well in advance of your CQC inspections.

As an organisation we have a focus currently on KLOE Responsive (through our staff meetings, supervisions, client meetings etc) so this guide has already been utilised internally to increase our staff teams understanding.

Good and outstanding care guide – workbook edition

Exclusively available to our registered manager members.

Developed primarily for managers and leaders using questions and practical activities the hard copy workbook edition will help you to reflect on good and best practice included in the guide and consider how you compare, how you could evidence similar or where the service could be strengthened further.

Whether you wish to reflect alone or as part of a group, the workbook can help your organisation to prepare and respond to inspections.

Good and outstanding care case studies

Two of the organisations who supported the development of the Good and outstanding care guide provide valuable insight into how they deliver high standards of care in their services.

The Old Vicarage Residential CareThis organisation located in Leigh in Dorset explains how hands on management, the involvement of people who need care and support in the recruitment process and staff support have all contributed to their outstanding rating. They reflect on the pride that exceeding the CQC standards has resulted in and recommend steps for other services to take.

Welmede Housing AssociationThis organisation explains how their recruitment process and induction programmes supports staff, how existing skills and capabilities are refreshed and how they overhauled records to meet the needs of people who use the service. In preparing all for CQC, the service used effective communications and mock inspections leading to a range of good and outstanding ratings being achieved.